Each year, graduating students in the Masters of Public Policy (MPP) program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government must complete a Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) in order to graduate. The PAE is the capstone of the MPP curriculum, an opportunity to apply and integrate the skills gained at the Kennedy School and a major enterprise for second-year students. The PAE is a professional product, usually around 40 pages in length, meant to clarify and address a practical policy or management problem for a real-world client.

The Rappaport Institute Internet site strives to provide a complete overview of PAE reports that address public policy issues in Greater Boston and Massachusetts. These reports can be examined at the library at the Kennedy School of Government. Over time, the Institute will post the complete texts of the best PAEs relating to issues in Greater Boston and Massachusetts.

Opportunities For State or Local Agencies

If you are interested in having such a project done for your organization, you should contact the Kennedy School's PAE office, which collects such requests and makes them available to students, who will review them when they return in September. The first step in doing so is to go to the PAE website, where you can ask to receive more information on the program. The PAE website also has more information about the PAE program.

The Rappaport Institute is also gathering a list of PAEs on issues in Greater Boston or Massachusetts as a whole that were done for local organizations and entities. We are beginning to collect many of these PAEs and hope to make many of them available on our website in the coming year. We are also examining ways that the Rappaport Institute can help facilitate the preparation and dissemination of relevant PAEs in the future.

Opportunities For Masters of Public Policy (MPP) Students

If you are a current Kennedy School MPP Student, the Rappaport Institute is interested in assisting you. If you need assistance with contact information, outreach or advice on a Greater Boston Policy Analysis Exercise, please contact Polly O'Brien at 617-495-5091 or by email. We will be happy to offer our experience and extensive network to interested students.